Jay-Z announces Tidal exclusive new album

Streaming exclusives don’t work. They alienate consumers and provide only modest long-term boosts in subscriber numbers for the streaming platforms which secure them. But, fuck it, Jay-Z doesn’t have any other ideas for what to do with Tidal, so he’s putting out a new album on there – and there only – next week.

Titled ‘4:44’, the album will be available only to those paying for a Tidal subscription, or who sign up for a free trial in order to check it out. Assuming the new album will subsequently be available for a download purchase elsewhere, it will presumably join Beyonce’s ‘Lemonade’ on the list of records people have to begrudgingly buy from iTunes.